Naga
The naga are former Highborne night elves who mutated into vengeful humanoid sea serpents. While many remain on Azeroth to attempt to reclaim the surface world, a large group followed the power-mad Betrayer, Illidan Stormrage, into Outland and proceeded to claim the watery areas of the shattered land. History Ten thousand years ago, during the reign of Queen Azshara, there was an elite magic-using sect known as the Highborne, who dabbled in magics that many other elves considered heretical by drawing upon the power of the Well of Eternity. Naga are sinister, ophidian humanoids that dwell beneath the ocean. Theirs is an ancient and mystical culture, for ten thousand years ago they were kaldorei: night elves. The high-borne elves enjoyed great power and comfort before the doom of the War of the Ancients. During the War of the Ancients, the Highborne sought to abuse arcane magic to bring demons to the world. This action led to the War of the Ancients, in which the night elves, at great cost, defeated the Burning Legion. The magical backlash shattered the world, imploded the Well of Eternity, and blasted the Highborne’s capital city to the bottom of the ocean. Many were cast far into the flooding depths of the great cataclysm that sundered the land and destroyed the Well of Eternity. While many died, Queen Azhara managed to make a pact with the Old Gods which transformed her and her surviving followers into the so-called naga. Many Highborne joined their city on the ocean floor, where they would have drowned — if a curse hadn’t transformed them into the water-breathing naga. For 10,000 years, these elves of the abyss dwelled in a dark and powerful empire. Pagodas and balconies line the deep trenches, glimmering lights picking out the shapes of cities in the cold black. Figures drift and twist along the passageways, their elven origins difficult to see. When the Well of Eternity imploded at the conclusion of the War of the Ancients, sundering the world, the Highborne inhabitants of Zin-Azshari were trapped in the blast. At the last second, Azshara struck a deal with the Old Gods for her survival. Azshara and her followers were dragged down beneath the raging sea... but they did not die. Twisted by the Old Gods, invigorated by the Well's energies, they took on new shapes, new powers and became the hateful, serpentine naga. When the naga awakened, they set about building a new life for themselves on the ocean depths, within the abyssal sea trench beneath the swirling waters of the Maelstrom they built their new city, Nazjatar. Azshara herself expanded with hate and rage, becoming a massive monstrosity, reflecting the wickedness and malice that had always hidden within her core. There in the depths of the ocean for ten thousand years the Naga plotted their revenge against the night elves. Most naga are still content to wait. However, a small group led by the naga Sea Witch, Lady Vashj, answered a summons from Illidan Stormrage to aid him in his quest to destroy the Frozen Throne. They made new allies in the form of their Highborne kin the blood elves, as well as enemies of the night elves and the Alliance. They aided Illidan in the recovery of the Eye of Sargeras, and fought alongside the blood elves to take Outland as well as at the Icecrown Glacier against the Scourge. After suffering defeat at the hands of Arthas this group retreated back to Outland with Illidan. :The exact reasons for Vashj's alliance with Illidan remain a mystery, though general speculation points to a scheme of the naga's presumed masters. More recently naga have begun to reappear around the coasts of the world, creating settlements on land, most noticeably in the ruins of their old cities in Azshara. It also seems that some have made a fort in Northrend, in the Riplash Ruins. Whether these forces have emerged on Azshara's orders or are another sect entirely is unknown. The city of Nazjatar has never featured in the games themselves but there are unofficial plans to make a Founding of Durotar type mini-campaign. The reliability of this information is questionable. Appearance right Naga only marginally resemble the noble race they once were. Their proud Kaldorei visages are warped and twisted. The naga are part night elf, part serpent, and some have evolved bizarre oceanic mutations. In this way, the race has developed an array of genetic variations and defenses, such as ink jets, tentacles, razor fins, venomous fangs, hardened barnacle carapaces and spined fists. Naga men are bestial and considered less intelligent than females, but are remarkably strong and tough, able to withstand a great deal of bodily injury. Naga women more resemble the Kaldorei from whom they came, their faces fair, even beautiful. This unearthly splendor is ruined by their monstrous deformities — they often have multiple limbs (four to six arms). Naga average 6 1/2 feet tall, and naga men are much bulkier than women. Naga are now serpent-like humanoids. The men are thickly built, with humanoid torsos merging into a serpent hind section. Their scales are large and thick, and their heads are reminiscent of dragons, showing little sign of their elven ancestry. The women are tall and slender, with fine scales covering their angular features. Sexual Dimorphism Naga males and females have different features; in their transformation, males lost some of their intelligence but increased in size and strength. Their faces now appear almost draconic with little resemblance to their Elven heritage. Females kept more of their Elven features and their intelligence. Naga female faces are fair, even beautiful. Most females have four arms. Naga culture is complex. A clear delineation exists between the sexes. Male naga are larger and more muscular, reminiscent of dragons. Naga men serve as soldiers and guardians. Female naga are more slender, with smaller scales and finer, more human-seeming faces. Naga women are natural spellcasters and rely on magic and poison to defeat their enemies. Naga men are more numerous, but as naga consider their women to be magically and intellectually superior, their society is matriarchal. Women occupy most positions of leadership, and all naga pay homage to their queen, Azshara. The naga capital is Nazjatar, in the Eye beneath the Maelstrom, but they can be found nearly anywhere. Several ranks and types of naga exist. Naga myrmidons and royal guards, for instance, are strong males and powerful melee fighters; naga sirens are female mages. Naga serve their dark empress Azshara without question. Naga society is matriarchal, and the sexes have diverged radically, both mentally and physically, in the millennia of their estrangement. Women are dominant and often train as spellcasters, while men form the brute labor force and serve their women as physical warriors. Naga are avaricious and sadistic, and their millenia of aquatic banishment has only intensified their evil, power-hungry nature. Mutations Some nagas have unique features (example: Lady Vashj has snakes instead of hair, High Warlord Naj'entus has stony arms(if they are his own...) maybe because nagas originated from mutated elves, and mutations are unanticipated and, frequently, bizarre. Culture Society While males greatly outnumber females, the females are considered the intellectual superiors, more refined and possessing great magical power. Men can rise to prominence and even lead communities, but there is a limit to what they are permitted to achieve. The civilization of the naga has extensive codes, laws, and ceremonies. Factions, some millennia old, work continuously in bids for power. They seek the blessings of their queen, one familiar to history: Queen Azshara lives still, in the vast city of Nazjatar at the bottom of a deep ocean trench. She has embraced the power of the naga, grown in size, and possesses many tentacles bedecked in jewels and items of power. She plots her revenge on the night elves, biding her time until the growing might of the naga can be brought to bear. Naga have finely worked robes that function as leather armor. They hunt large prey with tridents and scimitars. They are experienced in formation fighting, particularly in dealings with murlocs and mur’gul. A warband will deploy male infantry to engage at moderate range with tridents, while the females cast spells. The men are willing to sacrifice themselves if ordered. Leaders will avoid heavy losses, but are otherwise open to small risks. Languages Naga typically speak their own language, Nazja, and most know Common. For various reasons, individual Naga learn to speak with the creatures with which they interact. Some also learn the language of their heritage, Darnassian (or may even remember it). Naga society is female dominated; they are considered the intellectual superiors and possess the greater magical power . Males can rise to prominence and even lead communities, but there is a limit to what they can achieve. In terms of class, this makes them the opposite of the night elves they evolved from, where males typically work magic and females fight (though the kaldorei lack intellect-based prejudice). Naga relations Naga are dangerous and avaricious, and most races are unaware of their existence. Naga play well with blood elves, trolls and other dark, independent powers, but only the rarest naga joins the Alliance or Horde. The naga traveling with Illidan have a more educated view of Kalimdor’s races than the naga who remain at the bottom of the sea or in one of the eastern outposts. These travelers hold the blood elves in high regard, as they are also evolved children of the Highborne, and they too fought with Illidan. The time spent together in battle made the two races respect and admire each other’s skills. They are united against all others, as they are currently the two most unpopular races on the continent. The naga can either take or leave the goblins and trolls, creatures who care nothing for their own pasts. The half-orcs, furbolgs and pandaren do not trust the naga, and the naga feel the same way in return. They feel that divine magic practitioners are weak and without ambition. The naga are a neutral race for a very good reason: neither the Alliance nor the Horde will welcome them. The Alliance elicits nothing but rage in the minds of the naga. Their former brethren, the night elves, still thrive on the continent, and have not forgotten their grudges with the naga. Their blatant hatred of the night elves is only rivaled by the night elves’ feelings for them. As night elf leaders Tyrande Whisperwind and Malfurion Stormrage are highly respected within the Alliance, their hatred and distrust of the naga has spread to the other races. The races of the Horde are met with derisiveness from the naga; they would have no part of the Horde even if invited to join. The spiritual natures of these races are similar to the pandaren and furbolgs, and therefore worthy of similar disrespect. The naga consider the Horde to be nothing more than barbaric, weak-minded fools. They would sooner accept the night elves as masters than join the Horde. Naga are dark creatures, evil and cunning. A naga might join forces with a being of another race in order to serve her own ends, however, much as Lady Vashj did with Illidan and his forces. Naga are selfish creatures, though, and think only of their own (and their race’s) dominance. Their minds have little room for charity or kindness. A naga that renounced her evil ways would be a unique individual indeed. Some naga may be sent to the land on a mission, or they may be exiles who defy the naga queen. Few among the humanoid races are aware of the nagas’ history, so most encounters deal primarily with their strange countenance. Naga characters can use disguise or magic to avoid notice. Naga heroes are usually limited to a few mutations. Far from the power of Nazjatar, the powers of the flesh are less likely to be awakened in this way. Even though the blood elves of Quel'Thalas are members of the Horde, there is no sign of diplomacy between the two powers; in addition to naga opinions, the Azerothian blood elves do not unilaterally accept the philosophy that Kael has adopted, and likely wish to avoid association with the naga. The naga seem to be hated by the Horde as they've assaulted their newfound friends, the Tuskarr. The naga have managed to enslave large numbers of Mur'guls, a mutated strain of murloc. This aquatic race fears the Naga's magical abilities. The naga's main rival for dominance of the ocean are Sea Giants; these creatures hate naga and slay them on sight. Combat The Naga have an army composed of various races. Mur'gul slaves are used as staging troops and cannon fodder, with artillery support from mighty Dragon Turtles. Naga males serve as shock troops; they deploy as infantry in close formations wielding scimitars, tridents and nets while females stand back hurling spells at the enemy. Males may have command over small numbers of troops but females will always be in overall command of any Naga force. Units from Warcraft III Frozen Throne Expansion * Heroes ** Naga Sea Witch * Buildings ** Temple of Tides (returning point for resources and trains Mur'gul Slave and Mur'gul Reaver) ** Shrine of Azshara (trains Naga Siren and Couatl) ** Altar of the Depths (revives hero) ** Spawning Grounds (trains Naga Myrmidon, Dragon Turtles and Snap Dragons) ** Coral Bed (provides food) ** Tidal Guardian (land and air tower) thumb|A naga siren * Moving Units ** Mur'gul Slave (worker unit) ** Mur'gul Reaver (light melee unit) ** Watery Minion (summoned unit) ** Sea Elemental (summoned unit) ** Naga Myrmidon (heavy melee unit) ** Naga Royal Guard (caster and heavy melee unit) ** Naga Siren (caster unit) ** Snap Dragon (ranged unit) ** Dragon Turtle (siege unit) ** Couatl (flying unit) ** Naga Summoner (custom unit) Notable Naga * Empress Azshara * Lady Vashj * Fathom-Lord Karathress * Lady Serpentra * Serena Scarscale * Lady Darkscale * Scilla Murkshadow * Prince Nazjak * Lady Sarevess * Lady Vespia * Lady Vespira * Warlord Kalithresh: A good example of a male authority in Naga civilization. * Lord Shalzaru * Warlord Krellian * Overseer Tidewrath * High Warlord Naj'entus * Skar'this the Heretic: A friendly naga who serves Neptulon. * Meridith the Mermaiden: A Friendly Naga met during the Scepter of the Shifting Sands quest Chain. * Hydromancer Thespia Tribal names No information is available on the internal division of naga. However, the game has provided us with a list of names that are associated with naga NPCs. Azeroth * Wrathscale (Azuremyst Isle & Bloodmyst Isle) * Bloodcursed (Bloodmyst Isle) * Stormscale (Darkshore) * Wrathtail (Ashenvale) * Blackfathom (Blackfathom Deeps, Ashenvale) * Daggerspine (Hillsbrad Foothills & Arathi Highlands) * Slitherblade (Desolace) * Hatecrest (Feralas) * Spitelash (Azshara) * Strashaz (Dustwallow Marsh) * Darkspine (Greengill Coast) Illidan's Naga, Outland * Bloodscale (Zangarmarsh) * Darkcrest (Zangarmarsh) * Wrathfin (The Underbog) * Coilfang (Coilfang Reservoir) * Coilskar (Shadowmoon Valley & The Black Temple) Desolace skeletons thumb|Dead Goliaths The twin massive skeletons of ancient combatants in Valley of Bones in Desolace bear striking resemblance to those of naga, along with tridents as their weapons. Some have speculated that these are the bones of Old Gods. Trivia *Naga were first mentioned in Day of the Dragon, Krasus found one frozen in Malygos' Sanctum in Northrend, he was only able to utter, "Na-" before he was cut off. *The naga come from Hindu and Southeast Asian mythology. There they are beings of great power and magic. *Nag is the hindu word for cobra. See Myth for more information. See also * The Origin of the races * Naga Clans category Category:Lore Category:Creatures Category:Humanoids Category:Naga